Vanguard-class ship of the line

HMS Collingwood
Class overview
Name	Vanguard class
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Canopus-class
Succeeded by	None
In service	25 August 1835 - 1929
Planned	14
Completed	9
General characteristics
Type	Ship of the line
Length	190 ft (57.9 m) (gundeck) 154 ft 4 in (47 m) (keel)
Beam	56 ft 9 in (17.3 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Armament	80 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs, 2 × 68 pdr carronades Upper gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs, 2 × 68 pdr carronades Quarterdeck: 14 × 32 pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 32 pdrs, 2 × 32 pdr carronades Poop deck: 4 × 18 pdr carronades

The Vanguard-class ships of the line were a class of two-deck 80-gun second rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir William Symonds, of which nine were completed as sailing ships of the line, although another two of these were completed as (and others converted into) steam warships.

They were originally planned as 78-gun third rates. Two ships were ordered in 1832 and another two in 1833, although one of the latter was intended to be a rebuilding of the second rate Union, and this was subsequently cancelled. At this point the design was modified and they were re-designated as 80-gun second rates. Another ship was ordered to this design in 1838, another seven in 1839 (of which two were subsequently re-ordered three months later as 90-gun ships to a new design - the Albion and Aboukir) and another two in 1840. Two of the above ships were re-ordered and completed as steam battleships - Majestic and Irresistible. A final ship to this design, the Brunswick, was ordered in 1844 but in 1847 she was re-ordered to a modified design.

Ships

• HMS Vanguard

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard

Ordered: 23 June 1832

Launched: 25 August 1835

Fate: Broken up, 1875

• HMS Collingwood

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard

Ordered: 23 June 1832

Launched: 17 August 1841

Fate: Sold, 1867

• HMS Goliath

Builder: Chatham Dockyard

Ordered: 7 October 1833

Launched: 25 July 1842

Fate: Burnt, 1875

• HMS Superb

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard

Ordered: 15 June 1838

Launched: 6 September 1842

Fate: Broken up, 1869

• HMS Meeanee

Builder: Bombay Dockyard

Ordered: 12 March 1839 (as Madras)

Launched: 11 November 1848

Fate: Broken up, 1906

• HMS Centurion

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard

Ordered: 18 March 1839

Launched: 2 May 1844

Fate: Sold, 1870

• HMS Lion

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard

Ordered: 12 March 1840

Launched: 29 July 1847

Fate: Sold, 1905

• HMS Colossus

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard

Ordered: 18 March 1839

Launched: 1 June 1848

Fate: Sold, 1867

• HMS Mars

Builder: Chatham Dockyard

Ordered: 18 March 1839

Launched: 1 July 1848

Fate: Sold, 1929

References

• Clowes, William Laird (1901). The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present. Vol. VI. Sampson Low, Marston. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben & Bush, Steve (2020). Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the Present (5th revised and updated ed.). Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9327-0.
• Duckers, Peter (2011). The Crimean War at Sea: Naval Campaigns against Russia, 1854-56. Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN 978-1-84884-267-0.
• Lavery, Brian (1984). The Ship of the Line. Vol. 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
• Winfield, Rif (2014). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1817–1863: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-169-4.

External links

• Media related to Vanguard class ship of the line at Wikimedia Commons